Azam Khan says he lost 22 kg weight in his political journey

Azam Khan. File picture

Rampur (Uttar Pradesh): Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan turned emotional while referring to the slew of criminal cases he is facing in alleged land encroachment scams at an election rally here on Saturday.

Khan said that in his long political career in which he has always stood up for the masses, he had not gained anything but had only lost weight and the institutions which he had opened for the common good.

Addressing an election rally for the upcoming by-polls in the state, Khan said: "I am being called a criminal because I'm your lawyer. I was framed because I fought for the general public and the general good. On the Triple Talaq and Ayodhya Ram mandir issue, I had said that everyone should wait for the court's decisions. I said nothing more, and yet I am being punished."

"I thought there were people who consider me as a good politician and a good person. In this long political journey, I have not gained a kilo of weight but instead lost 22 kg weight," he added. "What is the point if all the universities and schools that I have opened for children shut down? If I lose these institutions and my weight then I will be left with nothing," he added.

Khan is currently facing a slew of criminal cases in connection with land encroachments by the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. Khan on October 5 had appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which interrogated him for two and a half hours.

The court has now listed the next hearing in the case on October 29. Over 80 cases have been registered against the SP leader.

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